by Lindsay Zanette | Jan 16, 2019 | Motivational
It’s a new year and a new chance to make your fitness goals a reality. As you may know, the majority of New Year’s resolutions fail within just a few months – but this year yours don’t have to. Follow these four tips and become a part of the small percentage of people who achieve their fitness goals.
1) Be realistic
Perhaps the best way to set yourself up for failure is by setting unrealistic expectations. I suggest setting goals you are at least 80% sure you can reach. For instance, if you are only 50% sure you can lose 10 lbs in one month, I suggest scaling down on your goal. Remember, real change is the result of time, effort, and patience. Take your fitness journey one step at a time. Think of it as a marathon that you start by walking and eventually running.
2) Write down your goals
Break down your goals into smaller sub-goals and write them down. Make sure they are both specific and measurable – instead of writing “I want to lose weight,” write “I want to lose one pound per week for the next six months by exercising at the gym 4x per week.” Place your written goals in a spot where you will see them often, like your fridge, to keep motivated. When creating a long-term goal such as your New Year’s resolution, it is also important for you to celebrate every little victory along the way. Take a nice, long bath or buy yourself a small gift. By doing so, you will teach your subconscious brain that you are capable of success, and it will in turn program you for further success.
3) Be accountable
Tell your friends and family about your fitness goals. Even telling just one person can go a very long way. By doing so, you are allowing others to hold you more accountable to your New Year’s resolution. Additionally, when you are feeling unmotivated, your family and friends can remind you why you set your goals in the first place. By telling others you may also inspire them to start their own fitness journey alongside you! Having a workout partner that you will meet at the gym or at a personal training session at set times will take your feeling of accountability to the next level.
4) Avoid fad diets and workout trends
New fad diets and workout trends come out every day, promising the results you’ve always wanted in as little as 10 days. The problem is that they simply aren’t sustainable, and in the case of fad diets, are often quite unsafe. Most of these diets involve neglecting essential nutrients, and if this is carried on for an extended period of time, you may end up ill. So what does work then? Maintain a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, as well as a balance of all the main food groups while practicing portion control. Using a calorie-counting app has proven helpful to many. Be consistent during your fitness journey and don’t let fads distract you from achieving your long-term goal. Remember – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
by Lindsay Zanette | Dec 10, 2018 | Motivational
As the weather gets colder, the mornings get darker, and the days get shorter, it becomes so much easier to put our exercise goals on the back burner until the spring. One of the hardest things to do in the cold months is to stay motivated to work out. Whether you are someone who favors an indoor workout or an outdoor workout, we could all use some extra tips and tricks to help stay motivated when the weather makes us want to do nothing but stay in bed. Below are some helpful tips to help you stick to your fitness goals during the winter months.
- Set your goals early and start working towards them before the new year
Think about refocusing your intentions on finishing off the year with good habits. This can make it that much easier to stick to it when you set new goals for the new year. If we let ourselves go during the holiday months while believing the mindset of “Oh, I’ll just get myself back on track in January” it becomes so much more of a challenge to get yourself going and seeing progress. By starting early with some fitness goals, you will more likely have success with those new years resolutions!
- Find a workout buddy or attend a fitness classes
If you have somebody else holding you accountable to show up and get it done, it becomes much harder to make up an excuse or skip out. If you have a friend with a similar schedule to yours, plan your workout dates in advance so that you can have it booked into your calendar. If a group fitness class is more your thing, you will most likely have to pre-register, plus you have the extra guidance and motivation coming from an exercise professional which helps to keep you on track!
- Always have a back-up plan
Inevitably, there is going to be some days where you really will not feel up to heading to the gym to get a good workout in. Google, Instagram, and YouTube can all be great resources for this! Have a go-to at home workout plan that you know you enjoy doing so that if you just can’t drag your butt to the gym, you can still get a sweat on from the comfort of your own home. Here are a couple of our favourite at home workout resources…
- Track it
I’m not talking about tracking your food intake or tracking your weight – simply write down the workouts you do, the weights you use, and what exactly your routine was that day. This is a great way to look at how you are progressing without looking at the scale! Think about how much stronger you are getting each day you show up and get it done.
- Put the gym into your schedule – think of it as an appointment with yourself that you don’t want to miss!
If you use a day planner, or an online calendar to keep track of your schedule, book in your workout times in advance. One of my favourite ways to do this is to sit down on a Sunday, look at my schedule for the week, and book in my workouts so that I feel like it is an appointment I have made with myself. This is one of the simplest ways to keep yourself accountable!
- Stay on track with your nutrition
If we let our nutrition slip, it becomes much easier to slip up in other areas. Find tips and tricks to make your unhealthy comfort foods healthy. One of my go-to comfort treats in the winter is baked goods. In order to avoid unhealthy baked goods, I will make my own healthy version of whatever I am craving. That way, I can still curb my sweet tooth without feeling like I’ve eaten too badly. Look up new recipes to try out in the winter months, and keep an eye out on future blog posts of healthy tasty treats!
- Find new ways to get active
If you find yourself hitting a plateau or you are just getting bored with your current routine, try some new exercise ideas! Take a look at some of the resources listed above if you’re out of ideas. Take up spinning, bootcamp classes, maybe even outdoor running. You can also work with a trainer! They are full of fresh ideas to help you get out of your fitness rut and get you enjoying your workouts again.
Now that you know some of the most helpful ways to stay on top of your routine in the winter, here’s a new workout that you can do literally anywhere. All you need is yourself and a mat. Enjoy!
7 MINUTE EMOM (EVERY MINUTE ON THE MINUTE)
This workout involves 7 different exercises performed back to back. Set your timer for 1 minute per exercise, and any time remaining can be used as rest before moving on to the next exercise. Aim to repeat this EMOM 2-5 times depending on your fitness level.
- Bodyweight squats x20
- Push ups x10
- Alternating reverse lunge x16
- Burpees x10
- Glute Bridge x20
- Leg drops x20
- Up-Down Plank x16
By Brea
